In the end, they would welcome 68,003 fans into the building. In the final days before the match, the Sounders were able to open up a few extra seats that would allow them to exceed their own attendance record of 67,385 that had watched them beat the Portland Timbers in Dempsey’s home debut the previous season. The only remaining question was how high the Sounders could push their capacity. Inventory quickly sold out, guaranteeing that the Sounders would beat the previous MLS Cup record of 61,316 who showed up for the 2002 final at Gillette Stadium.
2014 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS FULL
With two full weeks of lead-in time, the Sounders immediately announced that they would be opening the entire stadium for ticket sales. Buoyed by their good fortune, the Sounders were able to manage the final 40ish minutes and punched their ticket to MLS Cup where the Jermaine Jones-led New England Revolution were waiting.
The new realityĪlthough Juninho’s shot was outside of Stefan Frei’s reach, the Sounders got a huge break when it bounced right back into the goalkeeper’s arms. The Brazilian took a shot with his first touch and it hit the post. That’s where the score stayed until the 53rd minute, when a corner kick found its way to Juninho at the top of the box. Brad Evans scored on a loose ball in front of goal in the 26th minute and about 10 minutes later Clint Dempsey sent the crowd of nearly 47,000 into delirium when he scored to make it 2-0. Still, the Sounders headed home knowing that a two-goal win would mean hosting MLS Cup. The Galaxy were clearly the better team in the first leg of the conference finals, outshooting the Sounders 20-10 and winning the match, 1-0. They ultimately advanced on away goals after drawing the second leg, 0-0.
2014 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS SERIES
The Sounders didn’t exactly impress in the Western Conference semifinals, but they were never really troubled in their two-legged series against FC Dallas after salvaging a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Needing only a draw in the regular-season finale, Marco Pappa scored a pair of late goals to give the Sounders a 2-0 win and hand them the Supporters’ Shield in front of their home fans. The Sounders had erased a 2-0 deficit to pull out a draw in the regular season’s penultimate match in Carson. Open Cup double, and they came into the match knowing that they were a two-goal victory away from becoming the first team since 2003 to even play for the MLS treble, something no team had previously completed.īoosting the Sounders’ hopes against their longtime nemesis was the knowledge they had just bested the Galaxy in what was effectively a two-legged playoff for the Supporters’ Shield in the final two games of the season. They had already become the second team in MLS history to win the Supporters’ Shield- U.S. The Seattle Sounders came into the second leg of the 2014 Western Conference finals against the LA Galaxy knowing that history was well within their reach. What would have happened if Juninho’s long-distance shot in the second leg of the 2014 Western Conference finals had deflected off the post and stayed out of the goal? At Sounder at Heart, we’ll be looking at a variety of scenarios, but we’re going to start with a simple deflection. This week is “What If? Week” at SB Nation, in which sites are exploring alternate realities.
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